The Passover Lamb

As we enter the most holy of celebrations, Passover, let us prepare our hearts, repent from uncleanliness and seek true understanding of our relationship with God the Father and the Messiah. In a day and age where being Christian or Jew is looked down upon, even by some Christians and Jews, we need to have introspect on our mission in life, how that relates to the Lord, and our position in the world as we come closer to the end of days. This is the week of Nisan 10 on the Hebrew calendar. During the week, the sacrificial lambs were to be examined and only the ones found without blemish would be sacrificed on Nisan 14 (Friday this year) before the beginning of Pesach, or Passover.

 

The Passover coincides with the final days of Christ, his crucifixion, and resurrection. It is the picture of Christ being the true Passover Lamb, the sacrifice that liberates mankind from sin, as did God free the Israelites from the bondage in Egypt. The crucifixion of Christ took place as the Passover lambs were being sacrificed in the temple in Jerusalem. The Hebrew calendar starts its days from sundown to sundown, making its timing far different than the Gregorian calendar that we follow. The Pesach sacrifice (sacrifice of the Passover lambs) needed to be completed before sundown on Nisan 14 (which is Friday on our calendar). The Messiah was nailed to the cross, suffered, and died before sundown on Nisan 14.

 

Christ entered Jerusalem on the 10th of Nisan, which is the day that the devoted Jews were choosing their Passover lambs. This is referenced in Matthew 21 where the great multitude spread their garments and branches on the way saying in verse 9, "Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest." Jesus went to the temple and overturned the money changers, his authority was questioned by the religious leaders, and he gave the great commandments, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind...and the second one is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." He also sat with his disciples and taught the chronology of what would happen in the end of days. This is called the Olivet Discourse.

 

Christ stated to his disciples in Matthew 26:2, "Ye know that after two days is the feast of the Passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified." He then held an early Seder in which he spoke of the wine as his blood and the bread as his body. The events of the evening followed where Christ was taken in the garden, brought before the priests who sought a false witness to put him to death, but as Matthew 26:60 says, "But found none." He was taken before Pilate who also could find no fault in him, but allowed the people to decide if he should be crucified. These events follow the examination of the Passover Lamb who had no blemish. Christ is the true Passover Lamb as stated in 1 Corinthians 5:7, "Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us," and John 1:29, "Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world."

Have a Blessed and Powerful Day!

Bill Wilson

www.dailyjot.com